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What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga)
What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.
If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!
Back before studios worked out the present meta of mass producing anime that directly taps into audience anxieties and fantasies regarding their place in society (I wish I could escape to another world where what I do matters), work (the leader who kicked me out of the
companyparty will beg to take me back when they see my true talent) and reaching middle age (it's not too late, I can still become a hot uncle sword saint and accumulate a harem in the countryside), you'd sometimes see the opposite where a studio would pitch an insane concept which no audience had ever asked for. Enter Gankutsuou, Gonzo's 2004 adaptation of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo - but it's sci-fi with aliens, spaceships and cool giant mechs.This is one of those weird Gonzo shows like Final Fantasy Unlimited which as far as I can recall received no appreciation when it aired, but on the rare occasions it's mentioned on forums decades later seems to be remembered with an almost universal fondness.
Visually, it's striking. Almost every surface is filled with textures and patterns, none of which shifts in proper perspective, giving each scene the feel of a collage. In contrast, the character designs and animation are simple and loose. The net result is like staring into a kaleidoscope.
The sci-fi aspect aside, the story is reasonably faithful to the book, although it kicks off right from the point when the count first appears on the scene. The writing is also easy to follow and you get a pretty clear idea of who the characters are and what their motivations are very quickly.
Definitely worth a look for fans of unusual anime.